Greetings everyone. I am Ondrej, Jana's husband (I'm the Czech one). My family escaped from the former CSSR when I was 8 years old and came to the U.S in 1984. Because I was under 18, I was automatically naturalized as an American citizen five years later when my parents applied for citizenship. I was curious if it's possible to have dual citizenship, both American and Czech (my wife and I have dabbled with the idea of moving to CZ). Years ago, the U.S. didn't allow dual citizenship, so I'm not sure if this is still the case. If it is possible to get CZ citizenship because of my Czech birth certificate, are there other major requirements like living in CZ for a certain length of time (and does it have to be uninterrupted)? If getting CZ citizenship is not possible, does my Czech birthplace make it easier to live there without having to worry about getting a permit through a job, school, etc. I would also presume that only citizens have voting privileges. Does anyone know if there has been any talk in the Parliament about providing some kind of status to people in my shoes, whether or not they decide to live there? Is there possibly a website that addresses this topic? Thanks, Ondrej
Ondrej, I certainly can't answer all of your questions but I do know a few things from experience. Dual citizenship is now possible for U.S. citizens. My wife is a Czech citizen and a permanent resident here in the U.S. Our baby was born here and we are now finishing the paper work for our baby to have her Czech citizenship and all the rights that go with it. As for me (I'm American) I can also apply for permanent resident status there if I wanted to. An American can stay in the Czech Republic for a maximum period of 90 days without a visa. If you want to live there or work there you must get the proper visa and permit stuff like everywhere else. I found the website for the Czech Embassy in Washington and the Czech Consul very helpful. Hope this helps, Cao, Sam
The law says that if you want to get Czech citizenship, you have to give up your current one. But there are some exceptions. And one of them says that you can get Czech one and keep your current one if you've lost your Czech citizenship before - which applies to you. I don't think you have to live there for a certain period of time or do anything else than just apply for Czech citizenship and provide the required paperwork.
Hi ondrejana, I have looked into gaining Czech citizenship myself and have found many lawyers that say you can legally accept another citizenship while maintaining your american citizenship. From what I have read, there are a couple kinds of citizenships an individual can claim. There of course is the full citizenship and also from what I understand a citizenship that allows people to live and work only, a lot of entrepreneurs use this to gain access to the european stock market for example. You with your Czech background like myself, can claim citizenship for sure...as one of the requirements asks of this. Once you are a citizen, being married should allow your husband to claim citizenship as well. I hope this helps! Mej se!
